The presence of undesirable contamination, for example, toxins such as cyanide compounds, in products intended for human consumption has caused increased concern among pharmaceutical and food product manufacturers as well as the general public because of the potential for serious illness and even death as a result of ingesting contaminated products. In many cases, it is not possible to detect the presence of the contaminating substance which may be dangerous even in small quantities, because the content of the product, for example, a powdered form of drug within a capsule, or a solid or liquid food product, masks the presence of the contaminant.
Although individual food items may be presently tested for contamination, as described in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Title 21, Subchapter B, parts 100-199, most drugs and dietary supplements, such as vitamins, are packaged in quantities of small, individual units, for example, as capsules within a bottle, making individual screening prior to consumption economically unfeasible.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a method to treat various consumable products, including drugs, dietary supplements and foods, and packaging for such products, to detect contamination using an indicator which permits easy detection of contamination.
A further object of this invention is to provide consumable products and packaging for consumable products containing such indicators.
Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent by considering the Detailed Description and examples which follow.